Chillers

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DJS819

OK group, I guess it’s time to start a debate on chillers. I searched the forums and found several past chillers for sale and a few discussions on if one is needed, but with SO MANY options and SO LARGE an investment, I need your input.

Here’s my environment:
Water - Older style 110g flat back hex. 48” X 18” X 29” deep, 30g sump/fuge, Total of about 100g – 110g of actual water
Pumps - 3 Maxi Jet 1200, Mag 9.5 return pump, Coralife super skimmer 220
Lights - 48” Odyssea PC light, 30” T5 Actinic for the added color ( but it’s hardly ever on), Lights are on from roughly 3:00 – 10:00 daily
Livestock - 225 lbs live rock, 6 fish, Dozen or so crabs and snails, Several soft corals
Environment - Tank is in the living room with east facing windows. It’s not next to the windows though. House AC is set at 77 during the day and 74 at night. If I run both sets of lights the tank goes from about 78-79 in the morning to about 82+ in the afternoon. If I run just one set of lights it’s a bit better but everything likes light (including me).

I’m guessing a 1/4 - 1/3 HP chiller, but what’s the best brand, which is quiet, dual or single controller, and should I buy from the LFS or the Internet?

Let the recommendations begin!
David
 
I use an ECOPLUS 1/4 hp I bought from www.seedsetc.com lats year. It is less expensive than many of the other brands available. It does a great job of keeping my system at temp ( 78 ) with similar volume of water to yours only I am running 675 watts of MH lights over two tanks tied to one sump. There is still plenty pf cooling capacity left as it only cycles for a few minutes once an hour or so. This chiller also has a 110V controlled outlet for a heater (heater not included) so it will control heating and cooling to maintain your tanks temp.

Craig
 
I have the same question. My understanding is that you do not want the temperature variation that you are experiencing in your tank. I have a 125 reef/fish with 450 watts of 10K metal and about 400 watts of actenics. My temp goes up to about 79.8 peak during the day and I have my heaters set at 78 to keep it from dropping too much at night when we set the house temp down to get some sleep. I plan on another 125 fish only and will have only PC lights on it and these will be fed into a 75G refug. I am thinking that the greater water mass and the fact that the other 125 will not have halides the temps in the three tanks will not get so hot. Any comments or thoughts from the Guru's out there. I know that swings in temp are to be avoided but how much is acceptable before a chiller is called for? :?
 
@DJS819 wrote:
OK group said:
First do you have glass covers on the tank? Plus you did not mention any fans cooling the tank?
I do not know your setup, but is the Mag drive 9.5 return pump sitting in the sump? If so if possible going to a good external pump will reduce the heat you are getting from that pump.
Click to expand...
 
I purchased a chiller from Addictive aquatics a few months back. They had a special for free shipping and also this mfg has an extended warranty for around 65 dollars. Pacific Coast offered the best warranty of all the chillers I researched. The unit is working fine so far. It sounds like a small ac window unit when running and it does blow warm air when turned on although it doesn't run to long usually 15 to 45minutes tops. I have mine out of the stand as recommended on all chillers I looked at.

http://storefront.addictiveaquatics.com/

1/4 Horsepower Pacific Coast chiller unit, model CL-650.
Product ID : CH-PC-CL-650
Price: $524.99
 
First do you have glass covers on the tank? Plus you did not mention any fans cooling the tank?
I do not know your setup, but is the Mag drive 9.5 return pump sitting in the sump? If so if possible going to a good external pump will reduce the heat you are getting from that pump.
Click to expand...

No glass cover, just a wooden canopy. I also have 5 fans. 4 PC type fans in the canopy and a 4 inch fan on the Fuge. The fans did help a bit, but not enough to get excited about.

I hadn't considered an external pump, do I need to drill the sump to connect it in?

Thanks!
David
 
For an external pump, you would have to drill the sump. It would help some with the heat. Believe it or not some of the heat is coming from those Maxi-jets. Though it is hard to live without the flow. Is the back of your stand against a wall and the back open to the sump area? If so take a good fan and clip it to the back of the stand blowing into the sump area. The purpose to get more external air into the sump area. If possible this will help a lot with cooling. It will also add to your evaporation amount. But evaporation equals cooling.
 
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